


Manipulate. Calibrate.

by Psyrhos



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Reality, Cyberpunk, F/M, Post-Apocalypse, Romance, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 07:01:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21032162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psyrhos/pseuds/Psyrhos
Summary: A probably short story about a torturer and her victim in a dystopian future that derails into something else.





	Manipulate. Calibrate.

****

###  **Chapter 1 **

****  
3048 - In a shady military base

The massive walls of the war-crippled building were completely overtaken by disease spreading fungus.   
Not a single person in the last 300 years has even once thought about cleaning it, making the stench unbearable.  
Still, there was a woman in the room, carrying various tools from a time where robots weren't yet as advanced.   
Her breathing sounds were distorted due to the gas mask she had to carry.   
Scrapping sounds were audible as she dragged a steel-chair of low quality across the now uneven, and broken floor.   
On that chair was a man bound to it using very primitive knotting techniques most mages wouldn't haven an issue escaping from.   
She dragged him from left of the building into the room, not going up or down any stairs.   
Which made her glad, as she didn't have too carry as much.   
The noise suddenly turned into a loud clang as the woman slammed the chair onto the ground, which successfully woke the man up. 

"You know what will happen next, right?" 

asked the woman, opening up her toolkit and picking out a rusty screwdriver, to be more precise a torx.   
Despite its age the driver was still in fairly good shape as it wasn't bend or anything like that. 

"A torx? Are you trying to mentally torture me?" 

dumbfounded she looked at her tool.   
Nothing seemed off for her, it was a device that did its job well and it was popular before the Siglem Operation.   
Instead of thinking of a comeback she just decided to ram the screwdriver into the man's hand, multiple times, until she finally went through the entire hand. 

"That hurts, you know?" 

not satisfied by the result she inserts the driver into the gaping wound, tilting it and digging it underneath a vein.   
Her hands were sweaty and shaking as she prepared to use leverage in order to snap what's above the screwdriver's head.  
Unfazed by what's unfolding the man just silently trying her best to get everything into the right position.   
_I wonder what would happen if I'd break her concentration now._

"Yo, do you even know why you need to torture me?"

"Wha-wha-wha..." 

her hand slipped and she couldn't properly fulfill her goal, leaving the man's hand a lot less damaged as she would've desired.   
Despite her failure, the hand was ripped far enough open to reveal wires going through the tissue of flesh.   
The pulsating the lights of the complex computational nervous system (CCNS) used to enhance various abilities of humans had a mesmerizing rhythm to it.   
She couldn't believe her eyes, as she looked into the technological masterpiece in front of her.   
A feat that was only achieved by the best and most expensive doctors and technicians.   
Not a single person in the world would even have the money needed to get a single strand of the CCNS.   
After she found her composure again, she asked: 

"Who are you?"

instead of providing an answer the man just pointed at the power-drill, implying that she should use that in order to get the answers from him.   
Unsure about whether or not she read the situation correctly she picked up device, only to realize that it won't turn on.   
The batteries were beyond empty at this point and have already leaked out. 

"Oh my bad, I forgot." 

the man's words were filled with a slight hint of sarcasm. 

"Shut up." 

"I thought I was supposed to talk? Isn't that the point of torturing? Although I assume you don't even know which questions to ask me, now do you?" 

Frustrated she kicked his shin, almost hurting her own toes in the process.   
Still filled with anger she picks out a circular saw, powered with a cable.   
The man looked at the object with a large amount of skepticism. 

"Hmm, you know the power outlet is one floor higher, at room 1-03?" 

his voice again scared the woman as she was busy trying to find the electrical outlet needed to power her saw.   
What's his deal?  
Her thoughts earlier filled with torture were slowly being infiltrated by curiosity.   
Although, almost ironically she came to the conclusion that damaging his body would reveal more information about him.   
Inhuman, sure, but that probably didn't matter since that man in front of her was likely not human anymore. 

"Stop searching and just carry me the steps up. Or better yet, untie me and I'll do it myself." 

without thinking she automatically towards him and freed him.   
_Wait a second... why did I do that?_

"Thanks. Well then, time to go up. Follow me, Veel." 

her heart skipped a beat when she heard that name.   
It was at least 20 years since it was last uttered in her presence.   
Something was wrong here as that was the name she had as a young girl.   
A name, only known by a few people very close to her, since Veel hated it openly, but deep inside loved the people who called her that.   
Realizing that the man looking at her had a grin on his face, she quickly turned around to hide her blushing, red face. 

"You should realize by now that something is wrong and you still only silently question it, aren't you?" 

"..."   
  
"Also you idiot, you have a gas mask on, I can't see blushing so no need to hide it."   
  
"I 

She walked up the stone steps that creaked after each step she took.   
The oily railing certainly didn't help her feel any securer as the greasy texture felt incredibly disgusting on her hands.   
Despite that she had to hold on it, since he feared falling down due to the low build quality of the staircase.   
The man however had no issue walking up the flight of stairs.   
Not only that, he also managed to not make a single sound during the process.   
Finally at the desired floor both of them went to room 1-03 and after a quick search she found a power outlet.   
To her surprise, and partial enjoyment, it actually worked well enough to power the circular saw she forgot at the 0th floor. 

"..." 

"please, Veel" 

"I'll go get it, tie yourself to the chair." 

"Weren't you afraid of walking on these steps? Don't you rather want me to go?" 

"There is no way I can trus-" 

"Well I just walked up to the desired location after you untied me, and you know I'm superior due to my CCNS" 

"I... You.... It.... Well I guess you're right. Just stay here." 

her voice was filled with a mixture of confusion and embarrassment.   
Completely the opposite to the calm sounds that came from the man's mouth.

"Will do. Although I feel like I will like your boss even more."   
  
Her boss was an oddity, since she knew almost nothing about him, except that he is male and used various accounts to give her orders.   
Honestly, she sometimes believed he was the one behind Operation Siglem since she didn't know much about Operation Siglem, only that it was far beyond her classification, and even then it was an anomaly as all operations since 2083 have clear guidelines in regards to showcase how secret they are.   
These guidelines were showcased by one or two letters at the frond of the document for the operation, followed by a number signifying the version of it, another two digits, revealing the requirement for reading it. Higher number means higher security.   
Finally a few letters to remind what the document was about during conversation and to avoid overlap.   
None of those rules applied to Operation Siglem.   
Her personal authority was decently high at a SO30, allowing her to access any document or operation with scientific background, that has a value of 30 or less.   
For example, operation S2 - 22 BSE, a document that included guides on replacing bones of animals with steel.   
And the highest documents she has seen were around 55.

"Huh?" 

she stopped immediately.   
_What's that supposed to mean? How would he even know anything about the boss?_  
her thoughts were once again in complete disarray.   
Although this time it started to click for her.  
The man in front of her had no familiar physical features that she could rely upon in case she forgot something.   
But his behavior, speech pattern, and general knowledge was oddly nostalgic for her.   
This sense of nostalgia is what bothered her the most, since she realized that the man most likely was her boyfriend.   
And he died a few months ago during the operation MR3 - 35 STe so what she should feel right now is sadness or happiness, not the feeling of something she desired to re-experience for years.   
For now, she decided to not talk with the man about that.   
_He probably already knows. _  
Lost in her train of thought she didn't even notice that the man has already set up the circular saw for torture use.   
So when he decided to inform her she was startled noticeably, almost letting out a sound.   
Something felt wrong about stopping here, but she still decided to do so.   
  
"I don't want to do that anymore."   
  
A slight hesitation was heard in her voice that the man picked up but didn't comment on.   
He just lowered his head, and smiled.   
A simple gesture that opened up Veel, making her less anxious.   
Ironically, despite him being the one tortured, it was her who felt cornered.   
With her new found courage she decided to ask a question only her boyfriend to her knowledge should be able to answer.   
A question, that was met with genuine surprise by the man, who already sat down on the chair he's been tortured on.   
  
"What was the goal of operation MR3 - 35 STe, Aren?" 


End file.
